Foucault studies in the U.S

[Alterman]

Hey all,

I'm thinking of applying for a PhD in the U.S. I'm very much interested in Foucault Studies (especially the concept of the entrepreneurial self and it's connections to governmentality and technologies of the self).

Is there a focus on Foucault in graduate sociology studies in the U.S.?

Can someone recommend programs with emphasis on this field or known professors in the field? (almost all of the scholars I know of that are focusing on Foucault are European).

Thanks!

Edited August 9, 2012 by Guy F

[magog]

There are a number of Philosophy programs in the US where one can work heavily with Foucault, but I'm not knowledgable about Sociology programs. If you want more info on the Philosophy side, let me know.

[RefurbedScientist]

As magog said, you might want to consider philosophy or comp. lit. programs too. I'm not sure if "Foucault studies" exists in sociology. That sort of thing sounds more like a history of thought or comp. lit. field. Sociology is more likely to use Foucault as a theoretical framework for empirical research into things like sexuality, penal systems, social control, etc., than to study Foucault's writing as such. As one example, I recommend looking into David Garland at NYU.

[Alterman]

As you said, I want to use Foucault mainly as a theoretical framework for a sociological research. That's why I'm looking for scholars with emphasis on Foucault.

While Foucault has been a philosopher and social theorist, I believe it would be interesting to use empirical (sociological) research to examine his ideas and theories.

[sciencegirl]

While Foucault's ideas are certainly important, I think US sociology has generally considered his theories helpful alongside or as a back up dancer to the other more prominent sociology thinkers (Weber, Marx, Durkheim) - and if you are dead-set on focusing on Foucault to study sociology, and want to survive graduate school - best if you apply to an interdisciplinary program like American Studies/Modern Thought and Literature/History of Consciousness etc program.. and not traditional sociology programs. Just sparing you a lot of grief with this advice, though I certainly respect your approach and ideas.

[Darth.Vegan]

it really depends, Foucault tends to come up a lot in development/environmental sociology with the concept of biopower, biopolitics and governmentality. You may also see Foucault used quite a bit in sociology of gender and sociology of health. Also quite common in a lot of political sociology.

[awdrgy]

I am interested in getting some more information on Foucault Studies in Philosophy or Comp Lit. Are there any programs that are strong in this area in the US? Or even outside of it?

[smg]

I'd try Paul Rabinow at UC Berkley.  He teaches in the Anthro Department and worked with Foucault. 

[lyrehc]

If there isn't a class you may see if there are faculty with interests who would do a directed reading with you.

 

I'm in communication and my advisor is having me study Discipline and Punish because it lays a foundation for the theoretical approach I'm planning on using in my dissertation/areas of specialization.  Just because a program doesn't have an emphasis on Foucault doesn't mean that you can't study Foucault.  

[uselesstheory]

I am familiar with a faculty member at a <50 ranked university/program in sociology who has done considerable work on Foucault (as well as other theorists, but Foucault is definitely a main focus).

Edited August 30, 2014 by uselesstheory

[breaks0]

As you said, I want to use Foucault mainly as a theoretical framework for a sociological research. That's why I'm looking for scholars with emphasis on Foucault.

While Foucault has been a philosopher and social theorist, I believe it would be interesting to use empirical (sociological) research to examine his ideas and theories.

 

You know where you should look is Berkeley w/Louis Wacquant, sort've missing the elephant in the room by forgetting him. Really isn't my area though that's my dream school, but I have a friend from my dept (in another field at that, not at Berkeley) who loves his work. So try there.

[awdrgy]

If one were looking to do similar historical work on discourse to that of Foucault, which would be a better route at this point? a Comp Lit Program, a plain English Program, a Philosophy Program, or even a Communication Program? Or would each have their own pros and cons related to their disciplinary structure? What about odd programs such as Berkeley's Rhetoric program or Minnesota's Comparative Studies in Discourse and Society?

 

If I could direct the question at you especially, lyrehc, but I would appreciate answers from anyone.

 

If there isn't a class you may see if there are faculty with interests who would do a directed reading with you.

 

I'm in communication and my advisor is having me study Discipline and Punish because it lays a foundation for the theoretical approach I'm planning on using in my dissertation/areas of specialization.  Just because a program doesn't have an emphasis on Foucault doesn't mean that you can't study Foucault.  

 

Also, what level of interdisciplinary work is acceptable in graduate school, especially somewhere like Berkeley? I know they emphasize interdisciplinary work, but how far does that go? I'm thinking here in terms of working between departments like sociology, anthropology, critical theory, and philosophy (there isn't a lot of connection between the four professors there who utilize elements of Foucault or have some relation to him), each at Berkeley having one scholar related to Foucault in different and interesting ways--granting that ultimately there would probably be more specialization at the end of the degree.

Edited February 22, 2015 by nilfunks

[MaxWeberHasAPosse]

You know, I wrote my thesis on Foucault's encounter with the Iranian Revolution. It is a very interdisciplinary piece drawing much more on stuff from the humanities than anything properly sociological. Still, sociology programs have been very interested in my piece. You can study Foucault if you want to, but you need to find something novel. 

[brokenwindow]

Look at the top soc journals and search Foucault in the last 5 years. Determine which articles grapple with his ideas more than in passing. Look at the CVs of the authors of those articles.

[randomnamegenerator]

Samer Alatout at Wisconsin is someone who comes to mind. Note that he lists biopolitics and Foucault among his areas of interest.

 

http://dces.wisc.edu/people/faculty/samer-alatout/

 

You might also consider looking into people doing research on surveillance. Foucault obviously does important work beyond Discipline and Punish, but these people know that.

 

I'd take the advice about philosophy programs with a grain of salt. Philosophy in the US is very heavily slanted toward analytic philosophy. The boundary between the analytic and continental traditions is blurry and there are people who cross it, sure, but analytic philosophy by and large is concerned with problems and methods that will not be conducive to your interests. I also encountered a lot of disdain for the continental tradition, of which Foucault, to be clear, is a part. The continental philosophers in US philosophy departments also don't tend to use continental theorists in the same way that people in sociology, political science, gender studies, comp lit., etc., do: again, academic philosophy is focused on different problems.

Edited February 24, 2015 by randomnamegenerator

[MaxWeberHasAPosse]

Samer Alatout at Wisconsin is someone who comes to mind. Note that he lists biopolitics and Foucault among his areas of interest.

 

http://dces.wisc.edu/people/faculty/samer-alatout/

 

You might also consider looking into people doing research on surveillance. Foucault obviously does important work beyond Discipline and Punish, but these people know that.

 

I'd take the advice about philosophy programs with a grain of salt. Philosophy in the US is very heavily slanted toward analytic philosophy. The boundary between the analytic and continental traditions is blurry and there are people who cross it, sure, but analytic philosophy by and large is concerned with problems and methods that will not be conducive to your interests. I also encountered a lot of disdain for the continental tradition, of which Foucault, to be clear, is a part. The continental philosophers in US philosophy departments also don't tend to use continental theorists in the same way that people in sociology, political science, gender studies, comp lit., etc., do: again, academic philosophy is focused on different problems.

I met Samer this past winter break while I was on a trip to Palestine. He is *super* cool.